We’re a month out from the UFC’s return to Canada, but the promotion had to do some major marketing changes in the past few days.
The new poster has dropped for UFC Fight Night 262, which is set for Oct. 18 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. The main event was set to be a key middleweight matchup between former ONE two-division champion Reinier de Ridder and surging contender Anthony Hernandez until a Hernandez injury forced a change earlier this week.
Now de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) will take on Brendan Allen (25-7 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in the new headliner. And while there certainly will be title implications, they’re likely there more for de Ridder than Allen.
Two months ago, Allen outworked former title challenger Marvin Vettori in a Fight of the Night winner at UFC 318. That snapped a two-fight skid of decision losses to Hernandez and recent UFC Paris headliner winner Nassourdine Imavov.
But de Ridder truly has been on a tear since he arrived to the UFC with submissions of Gerald Meerschaert and former champ Kevin Holland and a bonus-winning upset knockout of Bo Nickal in May. Then in July, he took a split call from ex-champ Robert Whittaker for his fourth UFC win. A win over Allen would make him 5-0 in the UFC in 11 months, which would be a remarkable start.
The UFC dropped the new official poster for the event featuring the main eventers’ big mugs. Check out the poster below, as well as the latest lineup for UFC Vancouver.
Main Card (ESPN+, 7 p.m. ET)
- Reinier de Ridder vs. Brendan Allen
- Manon Fiorot vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
- Azamat Bekoev vs. Yousri Belgaroui
- Marlon Vera vs. Aiemann Zahabi
- Kevin Holland vs. Mike Malott
- HyunSung Park vs. Bruno Silva
Preliminary Card (ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET)
- Danny Barlow vs. Djorden Santos
- Stephanie Luciano vs. Ravena Oliveira
- Davey Grant vs. Charles Jourdain
- Melissa Croden vs. Tainara Lisboa
- Drew Dober vs. Kyle Prepolec
- Cody Gibson vs. Aori Qileng
- Matt Frevola vs. Kyle Nelson
